Twins

It was a special day on the farm today because we had twins! One of our cows that we recently brought back to the main facility gave birth to two baby heifers. Twins are quite rare on the farm, and there is something genetically unique about cow twins. If there are twins of opposite sexes born on the farm such as a bull and a heifer, it is most likely that the heifer calf will grow up to be sterile and never produce offspring. A cow that cannot have a calf of their own is often called a free martin. This can be somewhat problematic on a dairy farm considering that we produce, ship, and sell milk. The only way for a cow to produce milk is for them to have a baby, therefore a free martin will never produce milk. Luckily for us, the twins are both heifers so as they both grow up they should develop just like any other calf. After doing a bit of research, some articles suggest that the placental membrane that forms during gestation causes fluids and other bodily proteins to mix between the dam and both calves. The exchange of these fluids will more often than not impact the reproductive status of the heifer calf when she is twin to a bull. 

Today we shipped 4,919 gallons of milk and had the two lovely heifer twins born in the picture below.